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Back with our regular look at the weekend that was in the world of soccer business. One of the big stories at the end of last week involved hot rumors that Manchester City ownership was aggressively looking to pay $100 million for the New York City franchise in Major League Soccer. The story was reported by an array of credible outlets and the reporting suggested that the deal was near completion. The story was denied by Manchester City the next day, with multiple sources noting that the team has been losing massive amounts of money in the EPL. Not surprisingly, David Beckham’s name was also part of the story, with reports suggesting that he was involved in the ownership effort.

At halftime of the US Womens National Team;s final game of 2012, the name of the new Women’s soccer league was announced. The game (and announcement) were carried live on NBC Sports Network. The National Women’s Soccer League will begin play next year. The eight teams in the new league will be: Boston Breakers, Chicago Red Stars, FC Kansas City, Portland Thorns FC, Sky Blue FC, Washington Spirit, Western New York Flash and Seattle. The markets and teams are the product of months of maneuvering and negotiations by their ownership groups, U.S. Soccer and other women’s soccer stakeholders. The latter group includes the national team players themselves, whose contracts are being structured to include both international and league duty – a unique arrangement which has apparently contributed to the delays in the new league’s rollout.